Re: US Supreme Ct "Feist" Decision

From: Bruce Hayden <bhayden[_at_]copatlaw.com>
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 22:51:30 -0700

> The holding is a narrow one, applying only to alphabetical telephone
> listings. The Court explained that the information itself (the
> subscriber name, where they live, etc.) is purely factual, and not the
> result of any original authorship by the phone company. Copying such
> items of information was not impermissible copying under the US copyright
> laws, said the Court. What's more, the Court explained, reproducing the
> ordering or grouping of entries (alphabetically, grouped by letters of
> the alphabet) was likewise not the copying of anything original;
> alphabetical ordering is the classic opposite of an original sequence.
> The US Supreme Court explicitly rejected the notion that "sweat of the
> brow" was protectible copyright subject matter.
>
> To stress the point, the holding is narrow. It specifically left room
> for the possibility that a publisher of Yellow Pages (grouped by
> industry or product area) might have added sufficient originality
> through the selection of areas and headings, and through the placement
> of items into areas, that copying Yellow Pages might count as
> infringement. And of course it limits itself explicitly to US copyright
> law.

I am not sure that I can agree with Carl's statement that the holding is narrow. I can't count the number of cases I have read since then that have cited the case as precedent. The two propositions that I see it most cited for are that "sweat of the brow" doesn't qualify for copyright protection, and that copyright protection requires a certain minimal level of original expression - which was of course missing in that case. (Actually, you could view it as two different aspects of the same point).

Any other comments here?

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The preceding was not a legal opinion, and may not be my employers'. Orignal portions Copyright 1995 Bruce E. Hayden,All Rights Reserved. My work may be copied in whole or part, with proper attribution, as long as the copying is not for commercial gain.

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Bruce E. Hayden                                bhayden[_at_]acm.org               
Austin, Texas                                  bhayden[_at_]copatlaw.com

Received on Mon Oct 30 1995 - 04:55:24 GMT